Cell Phones in Schools? Yes, in Some Schools

For the last 3 years, I have studied and learned about many schools and their cell phones/technology policies. Many of those schools are rapidly updating those policies and some are simply throwing the "no cell phone" rule out the window and use the phones as a learning device and to actually teach students how to use phones like an adult. While these schools are few and far between, the number is growing. I read a recent article about a principal who is using a variety of new technology and allowing students and parents to do the same. In fact, he is having his school and staff embrace students with cell phones and actually having students use cell phone technology in class. Click here to read the article.

After reading the article, I am interested in the thoughts of both students and teachers. While I think the idea is a good one, I realize that we are not ready for this here at Carlisle. I think students and staff need to work together for a year or two to plan the way we look at and use cell phones in schools. I also believe this should be done at the high school level, but not at the middle school level. Maybe someday, but not yet. The schools where cell phones are used in class are almost all high schools and that is where the studies are showing they can work. I have not found any studies on middle schools yet. Bottom line is technology is changing rapidly and schools need to constantly review how we use or don't use technology and what our rules regarding technology currently states. If needed, those policies need to be studied and updated. What are your thoughts?

Apps for Educating Your Child!

Maybe the first question is: What is an "app"? Well, I didn't know until about 6 months ago when I got my first device that runs apps: an Ipod Touch. My phone is so old and basic, it can barely text, so this Ipod Touch was quite a learning experience. Anyway, it can run applications which are programs that you download and then can use to play games, help manage your life, or learn from. What I am directing you towards today, is a list of "apps" you could download to your phone, Ipod Touch, or even IPad (if you have one of those cool things!) in order to give your child a fun and interesting way to learn school material. A great site that I found over the summer is called "Moms With Apps" and the reason I like it is because this is a group of parents (moms) who test and later recommend apps that would be great for kids and for education. They also have a great deal on Fridays where you can get some of these apps for FREE! Well, today (Friday), they not only have a free app, but I also noticed that they had a list of "back to school" learning apps that they have tested and researched over the last year or so and highly recommend for you if you have children. Now, I have a 3 and 5-year old, but they love some of these apps and are very good and careful when using my ITouch. They use it better than me sometimes. I have often downloaded some of this site's apps and some of the reading and letter apps helped my 3-year old better than I did....sadly! Anyway, give this blog entry a read by clicking the link and maybe even bookmark the site so you can check in on Fridays for the FREE App of the Week! Have fun!

http://momswithapps.com/2010/08/18/a-is-for-apps-back-to-school-at-moms-with-apps/

Parents! Watch this Video to Learn to use the Carlisle Website

Parents, I have learned a new skill: Screencasts! What are Screencasts you ask? Well, a screencast is a video of a computer screen as someone controls the screen and mouse and moves from site to site while narrating what they are doing and why they are doing it. In this case, I have made a 5-minute screencast to show you how to get to the Carlisle Middle School Website and what you can do once you get there. The video takes only 5 minutes, but if you are unfamiliar with our website, I will walk and talk you through the main parts. I hope this helps! Let me know if you want to know about how to use other sites and I can make a screencast for you!

http://screenr.com/h00

School is Almost here....Are You Ready? Your Child?

Time magazine recently talked about the downside of summer vacation from school as their cover story. See the story here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2005654,00.html

In their cover story, they talk about the "brain drain" that happens to even the best of students over the summer as it is a long time to be away from daily education and brain work. Year-round school, which is really not any more days or hours than regular school seems to be one method of fighting the evils of this brain drain. Other schools are offering summer programs, camps, and schools to help keep students learning over the summer and staying sharp. But with budgets drying up, even this is getting to be a tough option to offer. So....what do we do while we wait for the system to change or the budget to build back up? We need to get our kids ready for school as parents and now that I am a parent of a school-aged child, I see the need for this firsthand. Here are some suggestions I have seen online and/or have used myself:

1. Simply do something educational everyday. Go to the science center, play a memory or matching game, play a thinking game, talk about school and what your child will study, or go for nature walks and have your child ask you any question he/she can think of.

2. Go online and play educational games. In the age of the Internet, these games are all over and students actually kind of like them. Either google "math games for kids" or "science games for kids" or go to my other blog and search through for any entry I have made about educational games teachers can use: http://www.wildcatwebsites.blogspot.com

3. If you have a Smart phone, Ipod Touch, IPad, or something that supports "apps", download some educational apps. To be honest, this is what my kids use the most and they are only 3 and 5 years old. They love them and learn so much. Our 3-year old was really struggling with her alphabet and speaking and then we downloaded "Word World" games and now she knows all of her letters. Sadly, the technology taught her better than we could I guess!!

4. Spend the week before school getting school supplies, but also brushing up on writing, reading, and math skills...the basics. Then, as school starts, really work hard on the homework and classwork. Even though it is likely review, this is where the base gets built and this is the area that gets lost over summer. The quicker a student gets their base rebuilt, the quicker they will catch on to the new stuff and can do so much more than they thought they ever could. Have nightly conversations about all of this work and keep pushing to go and think even further.

I hope this helps. I look forward to the school year. I love my summer vacation and would miss it if we went to year-round school, but I also love the idea that students do not lose so much knowledge over summer and have to review so much at the start of the year. But, it is the system we have, so we need to spend some of our summer staying up to speed on our skills....even me!

Angry People Respond to Rewards more than Threats

I learned of a new study from Larry Ferlazzo's blog that I found kind of interesting. I plan to see if any follow-up research is done and what those findings are. The results of this study affect the way we parent (including me!) and teach (again, including me!). The study shows that when anger is expressed as an emotion, the person showing anger may actually respond better to rewards more than threats or negative consequences. Parents and teachers tend to move to consequences and threats when emotions get heated and a child gets angry. Yet this study shows that maybe some reminders about the rewards and positive results of good behavior and less anger can actually motivate the child to behave again and let go of their anger. Hmmm.....interesting research and definitely research that makes me think more about the way I parent or teach. Any thoughts?

Link to study: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/08/11/people.who.are.angry.pay.more.attention.rewards.threats

So your Child Wants a "Facebook", What to Do?

First off, in order to have a Facebook account, a child has to be 13 years of age. But, millions of kids under the age of 13 already have a Facebook, so that rule doesn't seem to really be working. So, what does a parent do when their child begs to start up a Facebook account. Or maybe they already started one somehow without you knowing?? Either way, the next step might be keeping them safe and teaching them digital citizenship, how to be responsible online, and internet and social network safety.

I did a poll in my 6th grade Life Skills last year involving technology and here some interesting stats that I found:

*92.2% of Carlisle 6th graders have a computer at their house they can use (this does not count hand-held devices that can go online)

*57.5% belong to a Social networking site such as Facebook, MySpace, and Ning, with nearly all of those students saying Facebook was where their account was.

*26% admitting to being an "online friend" of a person they did not know, did not talk to outside of school, or did not like.

*26% admitted to being bullied by someone using technology through IM, social network sites, chat functions, or through text messages.

*Only 38.1% said their parents review or would review their social networking posts or text messages.

*Only 34.7% said they tell or would tell their parents if they were being bullied or harrassed.

So, what does this all mean? It means your 11-year old is likely to on Facebook or wanting to be on it. Your 13 or 14-year old is VERY LIKELY to be on Facebook or wanting to be on it. And when using Facebook, they are very possibly "friending" people they don't know or only their friends know and it is also very likely parents are not checking in on their facebook to see how they are using it or what they are saying on it. All this can lead to some dangerous outcomes down the road and since these social networking sites are fairly new, very few people know the short-term and long-term risks of putting your life out for others to see.

The following link seemed to answer about every question I had, even questions my own mother has about Facebook. Give it a read and see if it answers your questions. Feel free to leave comments about your experiences or questions about this very important topic.

http://www.surfnetkids.com/safety/facebook/

Eating Disorders in the News...What Can Parents Do?

I read every word of the recent story in the Des Moines Register about the story of Krista Phelps, a great track athlete and student, who passed away earlier this summer due to complications brought on by anorexia. I am not sure how long the story will be available through the Register's online website, but here is the link:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108010342

I have posted the full article and information that accompanies the article in my Life Skills room on our "Health and Mental Health in the News" bulletin board. It is a tough read at times, but an important read for students and parents and it works to get the discussion going as to what can we do to work with students or children who suffer from eating disorders.

First off, learning the warning signs that an eating disorder might be present. This WebMD article does a great job of laying out some signs bullet point by bullet point of anorexia and bulimia.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-to-spot-eating-disorder

Next, treating the disorder. Although I have a Master's in School Counseling, if a student is suffering from an eating disorder, that student likely needs more support and treatment than I can give. Talking about it is the first step, and one of the hardest steps. From there, consulting your family doctor and going from there is next. This link has a ton of information, but towards the bottom it gives tips for how to talk to someone you feel might be suffering from an eating disorder, how to suggest treatment, and what treatments are available. My role in all of this would likely be in support and post-treatment help and support.

http://helpguide.org/mental/eating_disorder_treatment.htm

My last link is one geared more for teens and comes from the Center for Young Women's Health. But let's make sure we remember, eating disorders are not just found in girls and women, they can be in adolescent boys and men as well, just not as likely. We need to be on the lookout for anyone showing the signs of an eating disorder, not just middle school girls.

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/eating_disorders.html

Email me if you have questions or feel free to leave a comment

Supplies! Supplies! Supplies!

Well, it is Back to School time and that can mean many things, but one thing it definitely means is "Supplies, supplies, supplies"! Our counselors worked with local churches and Kid's Hope and even the Des Moines schools to obtain a large variety of supplies and backpacks. We have already handed out and delivered many supplies and backpacks to students in need this year in our district, but we always have leftovers for the school year. We know life brings its ups and downs and lately the downs have been coming more often for many in our community (not to mention nationwide), so if you feel your school children are in need of some of these supplies, stop by our counseling offices or have your child stop in and we will make sure they have all the supplies they need. We believe no child should have his or her potential affected simply because of lack of adequate school supplies. If we do not have something they need for school, we will try to track it down so that they do have it. We want this year to get off to a great start and that means getting all students set up for success from day one! Email me at the middle school for more information.

Less Sleep = Depression? New Study Shows Possibility

In a recent Scientific American Study, results show enforcing a "bedtime" could be extremely important in your child's mental health. The link at the bottom has the full story, but take a look at this small excerpt:

"Columbia University scientists found that depression was 24 percent more common in teens whose parents let them go to bed at midnight or later than in kids whose moms and dads required them to hit the pillow by 10 p.m. The night owls were also 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts."

Middle School is already scary enough and as middle schoolers change, their hormones and body chemicals change too. This causes them to have mood swings (remember that age?!) and a harder time to keep steady with their moods and focus. This study shows that lack of sleep just adds more on top of these already difficult times and makes depression or suicidal thoughts an even bigger possibility. As a counselor, this scares me, but I have to admit that I see some of this first hand every year. I do some informal questioning of my students about bedtimes and sleep amounts and it does seem to show that the less sleep a student gets, the more likely it is that I will see them about possible depression, large mood swings, or even suicidal thoughts during the year.

So, as the school year starts, give this study a quick read and maybe even discuss the contents with your children and discuss why a good night's sleep is important, not just for those ITBS weeks, but for their own mental health during the year.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=less-sleep-linked-to-blues-in-teens